The article from Thought Capital talked about the importance of spatial cognition research in virtual worlds. But virtual worlds can also inform our understanding of spatial cognition. More on that in another post.
But this brings up the idea of virtual environments and neuroscience. Recently an article appeared in USA Today about the application of brain electrodes in virtual reality. The applications are very interesting beyond improving navigation in virtual worlds.
USA Today - Japanese researchers make 'Second Life' more like real life
Keio University graduate student Yasunari Hashimoto wears electrodes on his scalp to control the movements of his online character, or avatar, in the "Second Life" virtual reality world at the Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering, Department of Biosciences and Informatics, Faculty of Science and Technology of Keio University in Tokyo November 22, 2007. People with severe paralysis could find new opportunities from shopping to doing business or making new friends in the virtual world of Second Life by just thinking about it, if experiments being conducted by a Japanese university bear fruit.
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